IPHIGENIA A T A ULIS presents many problems to the literary and textual critic. Which of the gods has stolen you? The choruses "Que d'attraits" and "Non, jamais, jamais aux regards" are full of grace. The decision is yours and it is a brave one, I admit that. First Chorus Different words now but better. No fancy, confusing words for you. What shocking news of disaster is this? Thats what Im afraid of! Iphigenia hoped for but now lacks, and which the chorus explicitly offers as a measure of Iphigenia's cruel fate: she should not be a sacrificial animal but a bride for kings (1085 ff.). First Chorus It is wise to be modest because modesty gives you the rare gift of circumspection, the ability to judge what is right, what is your duty; an ability that will give you respect and will remain with you for ever. It is Hellas I must obey, darling, not Menelaos. Give thanks to the goddess Hope! Not mine, thats for sure. Forget your old age and run! You write down some words, then you scratch them out and write other words in their place. iphigenia in aulis monologue mother listen to me Let no Greek touch my body with his hand. First Chorus This is the naval force I saw with my own eyes and about which I had heard earlier. There is no point. 950. Let me make it absolutely clear, my lady: I was there and I saw it with my own eyes! Agamemnon What? What a sweet joy! Not unless I obey the priests demand, not unless I sacrifice you. Iphigeneia Artemis altar will be my grave. No, dont bury your face inside your cloak! Do you not want to fight for her? The gods deserted you and they wouldnt give you a favourable wind for our sails. First Chorus I sped through Artemis woods, a place rich with sacrifices, my youthful shyness blushing my cheeks, anxious to see the armys might, the tents of the Greeks and their countless horses. Iphigenia in Aulis or Iphigenia at Aulis (Ancient Greek: , romanized: phigneia en Auldi; variously translated, including the Latin Iphigenia in Aulide) is the last of the extant works by the playwright Euripides. He, madam, hes the cause of all your torment, madam. They first worked. But let me try and persuade you and let her stay inside the tent. . 500. Reg. Then thats the end, my sweetheart! Run! Come, darling Iphigeneia, come down from the carriage now. IPHIGENIA Had I, my father, the persuasive voice Of Orpheus, and his skill to charm the rocks Its not Menelaos whos in control here, Iphigeneia. 640. 900. Agamemnon And now its my turn to criticise you but, no, I wont do so in some arrogant, contemptuous way, with my eyes looking down on you but I shall do so in a conciliatory, brotherly way. No, I will not shed any tears now. Chorus Listen to her, Agamemnon! How can I insult all those countless brave warriors and their shields, all those myriads of men, clasping hard at the oars men with courage enough to attack our enemy and die for our country, to clear her name? 190. Klytaimestra But why? Accept the pure blood from this girls lovely neck! Cry! And you, you will carry the honour of my deed wherever you go! Menelaos Yes, but an unstable mind is an evil thing, something which befuddles the minds of ones friends. It is a bitter thing for a father to take, a father who has worked hard but who must send his daughters away away to another household. Iphigeneia hugs her mother. Klytaimestra May the gods give your heart strength! Iphigeneia hands baby Orestes to her mother, Iphigeneia If only I could sing like Orpheus, father! Attic tragedies were performed in Athens about the 5th century BC. One goddess, Aphrodite, was proud of her insatiable love. Its a common thing for a man to be shy when he meets his relatives for the first time and theyre talking about marriage! What does my life have to do with the marriage of Paris and Helen father? First Chorus I, too, feel pity for you if it is at all proper for a foreigner to feel pity for the plight of kings. Out of my senses! Dont be so afraid of the masses! Pause. Klytaimestra And leave my darling behind? Think again, Iphigeneia! Called me slave to a wedding bed! No, you look after everything outside the household and I shall take care of things within it! Iphigeneia Do not hate daddy my daddy, your husband. The world beneath the earth is a world of nothing. So, calm yourself now, Klytaimestra. If I could use such a voice and have everyone charmed, have them convinced to agree with me and follow me, then I would use that voice. They fuse into one. In it I spoke of Achilles high rank, his bravery, his honour and told her that the man refused to sail with us unless one of our daughters became his wife and went to live at his house, in Phthia. Menelaos Act according to your position, or youll be very sorry, old man! Youre overdoing your loyalty to your master! 660. Your own baby! Her unexpected arrival has added to my ruin. You already had one and you couldnt control her. In order to appease her and sail on to Troy, Agamemnon was forced to sacrifice his daughter, Iphigenia; the Chorus describes in detail her pitiful cries for mercy as her father's men cut her throat. Chorus And to the feast of the gods and to Bacchus wine-mixing bowl came, too, with spears of fir and with wreaths of green leaves, the troupe of horse-mounted centaurs. Your current position in the text is marked in blue. The whole Greek army, Klytaimestra, thats who! 27. What an awful burden Helen andTroyhave become for us! Klytaimestra With Zeus will or against it? Over the centuries other hands have contributed to the text we now have but even so for the most part it shows Euripides at his finest. Leave! Up there is my final argument. My father, my own father has left me! But they cant, my darling daughter. Paris! All of them, here inAulis. I wonder who her groom is. 430. I shall look elsewhere for friends and help. Once you see the knife approaching your neck you might well call for my help. From now on, think only of me. Menelaos If you dont let go of it I shall crack your skull open with this staff! First Chorus And there I saw the two Ajaxes sitting together: Oeleus son and the son of Telemon, the crown ofSalamisand Protisilaos and Palamides, whose father is Poseidons son. Klytaimestra But it is rightfully yours, Achilles! Agamemnon Zeus. Stuffed full with men and spears. What ruin, what catastrophe youve brought upon me by running off with Helen! This work is licensed under a Enter Second Messenger running excitedly. How to pronounce iphigenia in aulis | HowToPronounce.com Iphigenia at Aulis - Euripides - Google Books Happy noises of incoming royal procession, including horses and chariot are heard within, Stage Left. Old Man But, surely, my lord, surely it is there, in the trappings of office and power, that we find pleasure! Come out! As Iphigeneia approaches her, Agamemnon enters. Paristook it and carried her off back to his own home, in Ida, a place where the cows graze in luxurious pastures. Agamemnon A thought just occurred to me, a thought which might frighten you, Menelaos! Sweet daughter! Chorus With what joy the Muses pounded the earth with their gold-sandaled feet as they climbed the mountain side to get to the wedding! Come, go into my tent now. Where is the army going? Happy to be at your sisters wedding. Can you see what the goddess has placed upon her altar? This is the letter which you saw me writing in the dark, opening it and shutting it, labouring over it. No, there are hundreds of women who want my wedding bed! I told her to bring our daughter here so that she may marry Achilles. 1560. Iphigeneia Dont let them wear black either! This got me so angry that the very next moment I ordered Talthybius to use his powerful voice and call the army to disband. Let the Greeks win, mother, not the barbarians. 1270. No, Id rather see the death of a thousand women than that of a single man! Your fathers holy water is waiting for you! Iphigeneia at Aulis. Chorus Then the Greeks shall tie a garland around your fair hair and stain your human throat with your own blood. Shell be his wife. First Chorus Oh, Lady, goddess of love, Aphrodite! Where has the strength of the face of Modesty or of Virtue gone? Someone has exposed my plans! Youll be back inArgos, taking care of our other daughters. Helen, the sister of the Heaven-dwelling twins, the Dioscuri. Iphigenia in Aulis. Make sure this golden hair god stays far away from my bed chamber! How can I endure your death? 9.1", "denarius"). Iphigenia at Aulis Review I attended Iphigenia in Aulis at the Getty Villa on Thursday, September 21 at 8:00 PM. 1540. How could I? The Greek warriors are waiting for you, anxious to start off for Troy! Achilles Yes, madam and I too, am furious at your husband. Its blood spattered about, saturating the goddess altar! Iphigeneia Whats wrong, daddy? First Chorus Diomedes, too, was there amusing himself, throwing a discus. Chorus What a delightful wedding song was sung while the Lybian flute played on the day that Thetis and Peleas married! Have you thought of any of this, or do you just go wandering about the army camp proudly waving about the sceptre of a General? You, grandchild of Aeacus you, too Ledas daughter, stay! The Watchman, whose . You are the cause of this miserable conflict between the sons of Atreas and their children! IPHIGENIA IN AULIS Essay Summary A monologue from the play by Euripides NOTE: This monologue is reprinted from The Plays of Euripides in English, vol. See what troubles the gods have thrown at me, the poor wretch? You might still change your mind. Current location in this text. Yet it is right that she should come with her sweet daughter to give her away as a bride. 720. I want to marry you, to take you to my home and to protect you. George Bell and Sons. IPHIGENIA (Daughter of Agamemnon and Klytaimestra) ACHILLES (Chief of the Myrmidons, an army) FIRST MESSENGER SECOND MESSENGER FIRST CHORUS (Of women from Chalkis) SECOND CHORUS (Men and women of Argos, attendants to Klytaimestra and Iphigeneia) THE BABY ORESTES (Silent) GUARDS (Silent) VARIOUS OTHER ATTENDANTS (Silent) What would be the best action for him to take? Click anywhere in the Klytaimestra But tell me, good servant, where did you hear all this? And there, along the white sands below, Nereus fifty daughters whirled and weaved their dance circles and made splendid the wedding of the Nereid. Agamemnon Of course you do so long as you dont try to ruin them! If Im right, do the sensible thing and dont kill out darling. Why? "I envy you old man. Iphigenia in Aulis demonstrates how conflict and choices based around pride can lead to tragic results. Your words are good, worthy of our country. Second Messenger Klytaimestra! The opportunity was made for him to elope with her, since Menelaos was absent at the time. It is the wish of the Heavens. Perhaps were both being deceived. Chorus Alas! After all, what is it exactly that I want? When Agamemnon tries to avoid sacrificing Iphigenia, Menelaus calls Agamemnon a traitor to both Greece and his own brother. Menelaos How else, then, can you, Agamemnon, prove that we are brothers? Stop waiting for those indecisive sons of Atreas to tell you what to do. The gods do strange things, madam, things that baffle us mortals but they save those they love. Calchas. Agamemnon Call on me when you want me to do something reasonable, not when you want to ruin me. 1300. Thats Achilles, my darling. Tears of pity came into my eyes just now, when I saw your own tears roll from yours. Youve murdered Tantalus, my first husband and with even more brutal violence, youve torn my baby from my breast and dashed it hard against the ground! Its young Orestes, a baby still. Iphigenia at Aulis Cast of Characters: Calchas, an augur Agamemnon, King of Argos Attendant, an old man Menelaus, brother to Agamemnon Clytemnestra, wife of Agamemnon Iphigenia, daughter to Clytemnestra and Agamemnon Achilles, a warrior Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt Messenger Chorus of Women of Chalcis Attendants to Clytemnestra How could I possibly express my gratitude to you in a modest way? Old Man No, madam! What shall I say to my wife, then? And if only Zeus had not breathed his contrary wind upon Euripus, this wind that stopped this expedition from leaving for Troy! Iphigeneia at Aulis Quotes THE OLD MAN: Atreus did not sire you, Agamemnon, into a world of pure happiness. After that, Paris, the man who, according to the legend, judged the three goddesses, Hera, Aphrodite and Athena, for their beauty, arrived atSparta. [1340] Open the tent-door to me, servants, that I may hide myself Clytemnestra Why seek to escape, my child? You felt a great deal of joy when you came in that house, and when you went out of it you felt a wealthy man.